The one I’ve been meaning to go back to the most from my pre-joining the group days. Great album! Sometimes 90s rock? alternative music? just sounds the best
I already knew and loved Today and Disarm, but they are truly the heart of this album and I’d say easily some of the best songs of the 90s. Disarm is so beautiful and Billy Corgan’s voice (which in some contexts quite an acquired taste) captures the anguish of that song perfectly, and then those strings come in! A song I always want to listen to. Today I remember from seeing the video as a kid and loving that crazy painted ice cream van and thosr little melodies, but also its deceptive emotional heart (what was definitely not the greatest day of their lives).
I thought the album as a whole a little long but there were lots of songs that I liked and would revisit (Hummer and Mayonaise off the top of my head).
Assuming Melon Collie… might be on this list somewhere and looking forward to delving deeper into that
I finally listened to an album!! obviously metal is not my most listened to genre so this was not my favourite. but I loved the song names (poison was the cure, tornado of souls) and also those guitars were electrifying
this was not for me and wouldn’t want to listen again. I felt more positive at the start but it really grated on me and it took a lot to resist the urge to skip billericay dickie
had a nice groove and quite pleasant to listen to overall. I loved hearing the intro of that lady and recognising it getting sampled by kendrick. also loved around 1.40-2.00 of summer breeze. overall nothing particularly stayed with me but enjoyed it more than I was expecting
I enjoyed this quite a lot and my dad loved giving me little facts as we were listening (neneh cherry backing vocals). I prefer soul mining and I was hoping a few more if the songs might sound a bit like the ones I knew from that album but I appreciated the sound here (big drums) and the intensity, and found the political content really interesting
I’m sorry to say I was ready for this to be over within the first minute of starting the album and it didn’t grow on me
Had a brief flicker of joy when the opening of I Am A Pilgrim reminded me of the start of 5, 6, 7, 8 by Steps
Can see why the compilers of the book liked this one because it doesn’t really sound like it was made in 2019. I remember hearing of michael kiwanuka when his first album came out but never listened to much of his stuff. this was pretty cool! I loved hero, solid ground and light. the others washed over me as I making dinner, but congrats to michael on winning the mercury prize!
“no touch too heavy, no tempo above a resting heartbeat” were what the album notes said, and this was unfortunately too languid for me
This is the first album we’ve had where I had never heard of the artist before and I enjoyed branching out into something completely new. a few songs I enjoyed on here
there were quite a few moments that sounded so close to going into something I would really like but it didn’t get there
I have been so keen for the day when an album came up that I knew already and knew would immediately get 5 stars.
she is the best!! If asked I will always say green light is my favourite song of all time and I truly think everything on here sounds amazing. no bad songs, lots of range and drama, and the highs are so thrilling. green light, supercut, the louvre, perfect places, sober are all huge highlights but I love it all.
huge shoutout to jack antonoff’s production which is often maligned but transcendent on these songs and I think went on to inform a lot of pop production in the years since.
thank you ella and see you next month
I’m sorry this was a tough one for me
This was such a huge album in my house throughout the 2010s and if I had to guess probably one of the most played too (Half Light II especially).
The Suburbs epitomised my music taste arouns this time and I can remember the day I went to buy the CD while doing photography for a VA project in the city, and I think I subsequently incorporated lyrics or images from it into various art projects.
The album as a whole maybe does not hold up quite as well as it once did and I found a few songs in the middle that dragged a bit, but hearing Sprawl II, Suburban War, City With No Children, Ready To Start again really unlocked something in me so I’m still going 5 stars.
The suburban dystopia themes really spoke to me and I watched the interactive music video for We Used To Wait (it pulls in all these Google Streetview images of your childhood home ans shows them all overgrown and inhabited by humans) so much because it made such an impression on me.
Not from this album but Afterlife was my all time fave Arcade Fire song
Found this fun to listen to and enjoyed hearing the little live bits
This was great! I was complaining only yesterday that I was disappointed I hadn’t discovered more new music that I really enjoyed through this project, but I enjoyed this one start to finish and found lots of new songs that I will be adding to rotation. The songs sound big, the hooks are sharp and the melodies that I maybe wasn’t sure about at the start of each song wormed their way into my head by the end.
Fave was probably Last Chance on the Stairway but overall great listen
This was more enjoyable than I expected and it actually grew on me as I continued listening to it after a not very positive start. This is not really my type of music but quite liked Omaha and Sitting By The Window.
Kinda fun and I liked some of those sci fi bits in the opening but it didn’t evolve that much for me afterwards.
Fun fact the first time I heard of George Clinton I assumed he was related to Bill
I recently read something about The Hives and how they were compared to ZZ Top in their early days and so I think that set up higher expectations for me. Move Me On Down The Line was okay and the I did recognise the opening of The Grange but I would have loved a bit more melody
Great album! I listened to this straight after the other The The album a few weeks ago and there were so many songs I recognised and enjoyed. For sure the more pop and political of his albums but full of gems. This Is The Day is so good, I loved the 9 minute groove we got into with Giant, and Perfect is a new found fave. Definitely plan to return to this
Add metal to the list of genres that I’m not hugely knowledgeable about, but I was expecting this to be a lot heavier and harder to listen to. So enjoyed it more than I thought I would and can see why people might love it. I didn’t really know any of the songs but great tie in since I watched the new 28 Years Later film today and there was a great Iron Maiden moment
I’m sorry to say this type of music just does not really excite me and so I couldn’t even really pick out any notable moments. On the plus side the album was quite short
Once again, something that I’ve enjoyed quite a bit more than expected. Those opening two songs are great and it’s lovely just listening to her voice. In saying that, while I thought the album was good, it’s not really something I could see myself choosing to listen to.
Go listen to What Have I Done To Deserve This? by Dusty and the Pet Shop Boys
This was not bad! Another artist I’ve never heard of before so it was good to branch out. My favourites were Broken Hearts and Glamour Boys, which are not songs I would have expected to find based on the opening few tracks. Quite cool!
It was fine, not really my favourite or that memorable except for those moments when it unexpectedly went a bit sea shanty-esque. Loved the album title
oh I am thrilled for this one. When I was a kid I had a long obsession with garbage trucks and when I was given my allocated dial up internet time I would often google things like « garbage » and to my great disappointment instead of information about actual garbage I got the band instead. Anyway since them I have come to love them and « Vow » in particular but I’ve never listened to a full album.
I love how crisp everything sounds and the way the sometimes quite heavy guitars play off the melodies and Shirley Manson’s vocals. Vow is probably in my top 5 songs of the 90s and I don’t really think any of the album tracks come close but I did really enjoy listening to it
l insisted that my parents listen to this while we were having dinner and it was quite an experience. Genuinely funny the way some of the sounds were deployed in here. Always grateful to hear some synths and there certainly have not been enough synth-based albums on the list so far. Can only imagine how revolutionary this was at the time and the people it inspired
Björk is someone who I would say I love without necessarily knowing a huge amount of her music, and so this was an interesting album to listen to, especially because it was quite sonically different to the songs of hers that I knew. The vocal textures were overall a little harsh and not always that pleasant, but I was definitely technically impressed by what she did. Triumph of a Heart also has such an iconic video which definitely elevates the song for me.
I assume we have several more Björk albums to go on this list because I feel like I can think of at least 4 that seem more famous than this one
Can I just say those voices are so lovely! I wasn’t really able to pick out individual songs too well but as a whole I really enjoyed listening to this.
It feels like we’be been on a real round the world trip this week. This album unfortunately reminded me a lot of this Christmas cocktail lounge album my parents always put on when I was growing up, which I hated, but this had a few fun moments. Particularly enjoying the beginning of Hong Kong Mambo, which I found quite thrilling (the rest of the song not so much)
To me this wasn’t super remarkable but sitting outside on a lovely Friday evening in summer listening to this was quite a vibe
I love pop punk!!! I’m sure there’s lots of debates around where exactly this fits into the pop-punk-rock continuum but it was a lot of fun. I was worried when the first song was that little skit (I generally hate skits on albums) but after that I really got into this. You do get a pretty good sense of how each song is going to sound and the way the elements are going to come together, but I also love how distinctive Dexter’s voice is.
similar critique to a lot of other albums we’ve heard is the songs start to sound a bit the same towards the end.
come out and play so fun!!
I played this nice and loud and imagined I was another 90’s angsty teen (perhaps a neighbour of the one listening to the garbage album).
My first encounter with Sigur Ros was seeing their video for Gobbledigook in 2008, with a bunch of people running nude across the Icelandic countryside (still great). And in a huge coincidence, I was actually listening to one of their later albums yesterday morning because I needed an appropriate soundtrack for the novel I’m reading set in Iceland.
And then this album came along!! Perfect audio accompaniment for me to really get absorbed in (also a section of the book actually mentioned Sigur Ros while I was listening to them). I didn’t really know the very early Sigur Ros stuff very well, but it’s easy to get lost in it and I found it quite beautiful and peaceful.
I really liked how unhurried this album was, taking its time to open up and going on a journey with each song. I maybe prefer their later stuff just being a bit more structured and tight but this was great. I would definitely return to this and keen to get through the rest of their discography too
Staralfur was my fave
I don’t mind the sound of this but it felt long. Gutfest 89 was quite fun? And I liked the radio spoken word interludes and announcements
This had such a soothing opening. I love those little flickering electronic beats and pyramid song is so good. It is very kid a: the sequel, but that’s pretty good for me and it for sure reminded me of how good Everything In Its Right Place sounded in the cinema during 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (I know wrong album). I will admit listening in the bush was maybe not the ideal location and the second half didn’t stand out much to me but it was nicely atmospheric in the vein of sigur ros
Really struggled with this one but at least it was only 28 minutes
sometimes these albums are just too long and it starts to feel like homework. especially a lot of these older classic albums because there’s so many reissues and deluxe editions i have to make sure i’m not listening to a version with too much extra stuff, but the first one i clicked on for this was 70 songs long. Thankfully I’m just doing the 23-song version (still very long!). I was anxious at the start but very into what is life
Album cover is great but I’m sorry this holds absolutely no interest for me
I didn’t really have the patience for this (it’s been a tough few days of listening for me), loved some of the rockier instrumental moments in love lies bleeding and parts of grey seal but didn’t enjoy every time he started singing. also it was very long!
bring back albums that are less than one hour long!
Edit: Ok sorry I’m taking that back because the album is lumped together with the follow up Streetheart on streaming, more than doubling the length (not Dion’s fault). Unfortunate because I enjoyed the first few songs from Streetheart more than anything from the actual album
Never listened to a Bruce Springsteen album before and honestly didn’t even know some of his bigger songs. But this does contain my favourite (I’m Going Down, discovered via a Vampire Weekend cover) and Dancing in the Dark (huge fkr a no lights no lycra fan like me). On the whole I think I expected a bit more and wanted a few more songs to jump out at me (especially after reading there were 7 US top 10 singles on here). But I’m feeling generous after the last few days so up to a 4
this was ok! not the biggest fan of this sound but more exciting to me than some recent entries
I don’t know if I’d ever heard Hotel California (the song) in full before but I found it so underwhelming. One of the most famous songs of all time???? The rest of the album was also unremarkable to me
please get me out of the 70s! I write this before I’ve listened to a single note but this is how I feel. But it could be great!
Ok I really enjoyed the sound of this and you can’t say that it overstayed its welcome. Songs were punchy and catchy, lovely fuzzy quality. Ex Lion Tamer was great!
Edit again: I was still ready for it to end because I guess it didn’t feel like it progressed too much, but still some great punk (?) songs in there
I wouldn’t really say there were any songs on here that I enjoyed, sorry randy
I think this was pretty much what I would have expected this to sound like, but I didn’t mind it.
I did start to find the cheeriness a little bit overwhelming as we continued through
I grew up in an anti-Michael Jackson household and didn’t really know any of his music until after he died, and even then have never really been a fan so this was interesting as it’s not one of his albums where I feel I know many of the songs.
And I didn’t really enjoy it very much. After the first two tracks I found it quite dull and was relieved to get to the end. These songs didn’t feel like they had any of the features that make his hits so distinctive
good riddance to the 70s
this was great! never heard any of these songs before and also very interested in the 90s britpop lore that inspired it. definitely on the longer side but I got so on board for the journey of this album and how ambitious it was. there’s a lot going on but I enjoyed it
(edit to add I’m not sure if I needed a 17 minute song at the end but it wasn’t unpleasant to listen to)
I think it’s a very impressive album in scope and concept but not necessarily one I enjoyed listening to a huge amount. There were sounds I enjoyed moreso than particular songs, but gave some points for commitment (personally I wouldn’t have followed the story from the lyrics). my favourite song was maybe goodbye blue sky, although I did also love the theatrics in bring the boys back home.
Growing up with the scissors sisters version of comfortably numb as my default did somewhat ruin the original for me
Going into this with high hopes because of how much I love LMK (hugely underrated song) but I’ve never listened to the rest of this album. I fear it veers a little too R&B for me but those are some lush soundscapes, I just wish they went a bit harder
some thoughts as I listened:
- for a long time I’ve found gotta get up to be quite annoying and I fear that did extend a little bit to some of the other songs
- quite funny album title
- sometimes things are just a little too jangly for me (this was one of the times)
- I did like Without You
- I was hoping the Harry Nilsson song that lana del rey sings about where his voice cracks at 2:05 would be on this album but unfortunately it wasn’t
- omg Coconut was so annoying
A pretty fun album! Singles are amazing and I also particularly enjoyed Picture This and Sunday Girl. I appreciated getting a full album of upbeat songs
This felt kinda relentless and intense, but at the same time I don’t feel like a lot of moments jumped out at me. Lazarus and Sue (Or In A Season of Crime) were my favourites
I’m sorry to say this but I don’t particularly enjoy this style of singing and in most cases the music wasn’t exciting enough for me to overcome that. In saying that, obviously Respect sounded great, but to me that was also quite an outlier
sounded quite dated and uninspired version of the 80s where the songs never quite took off
I really expected this to be more enjoyable than it was
it briefly got better around Miss Me Blind but not enough. also Romance Revisited was a nice song to finish on even if it originally wasn’t part of the album and felt like it shared almost no sonic DNA with the rest of it
it starts out fun and it’s a nice jolt of energy but I don’t think this album really has any of my favourite Ramones songs and it was all sounding a bit the same by the end (I’m sure a classic Ramones critique)
all to say I wish I enjoyed this more but also would probably go back to it
I knew one song by The Thrills growing up (Whatever Happened To Corey Haim? - great song) and it’s not on this album! So I was surprised this was significant enough to make the list
I quite enjoyed the vibe, kinda mame me think of Phantom Planet California which I guess is a similar time
Overall I didn’t think it was bad but I wondered what made it stand out from
other early 2000s indie albums which I feel like may have aged better?
question for us all: should live albums be allowed to count for this list? especially since I’m imagining some of the same songs could have already appeared elsewhere in here. no double dipping!!
thankful to not listen to 2 hours of this because I didn’t like it that much
was very surprised that one of the lines in summertime blues was also used in a pj harvey song i quite like
An album I don’t think I’ve ever listened to in full but have been meaning to! Iconic singles on here and ones that I remember loving in year 4. Christmas 2005 I was so disappointed to be given the Green Day International Superhits album because it didn’t have any songs from this album (I would later learn that their early career songs were also great).
Lots to love here: the ambition, the storytelling, the dynamics and also the brazen political messaging. Also, songs like Boulevard of Broken Dreams and Holiday still sound so good. I love Jesus of Suburbia even though I have to brace myself for the r-word every time I listen to it.
4 stars only because the second half did not really live up to that opening run. However, Whatsername is a great closer and now one of my favourites
I’m just going to say upfront, I feel one of the biases of this list, which already has a lack of albums from this century, is that of those precious few they seem to (like the Grammys) elevate late career albums from artists well past their artistic peak based on name alone. Like, are we saying Bruce Springsteen was releasing some of the best music of 2002? We shall see!
Sorry Bruce! guess I picked the wrong day to make that statement. I’m only four songs in but surprisingly think this is great. Don’t know any of these songs but I am vibing with it. Production feels more timeless conpared to Born in the USA and also maybe more nuanced?
As a whole, pretty good album
this one was not for me (one of my least favourite so far)
I kinda enjoyed the last song so it was a shame it took 1 hour and 10 minutes to get to it.
Took me a few attempts to get through the album. Had to stop after track 3 for an hour’s respite because it felt like I was torturing my family at dinner
another day, another album
such a good sound!! most of the songs didn’t stand out too much individually but enjoyed listening to it overall
I knew and loved Glory Box and Sour Times already so they were great bookends to the album
it’s far too long and apparently this is only volume 1! Also feels like a cruel punishment giving us another live album from the 70s within a week
I would say the whole thing kinda just washed over me, but the 10 minute long final two tracks were definitely starting to test me
Highlight was Saint Dominic’s Preview but i couldn’t tell you why
I’m sorry but this was just too indulgent for me and I didn’t need to be hearing 19 minute tracks.
Maybe also harsher on this one because THERE’S JUST BEEN TOO MUCH THIS WEEK
I’ve spent probably 4 hours listening to live albums from the 70s that I didn’t enjoy
Also a confession that I skipped four minutes out of the middle of the last song but don’t think I missed much
This was definitely a welcome change but also still a bit much for me. Lots of interesting samples and I understand that this was quite a visionary release even if not really in my wheelhouse. Tearz was a nice closer
My favourite of the live albums by far, even if only because this one felt so much more full of life and urgent. I can’t say that I loved any of the songs but it exceeded my expectations
I’m sorry that it provoked anti-Irish hate
I liked that this one actually sounded like a live show that it might have been fun to attend
I don’t know it was fine? Listened to it yesterday and don’t really remember anything
Never really grew up listening to the Beatles (obviously aware of them) and haven’t listened to one of their albums before. I was surprised that I knew Drive My Car (without knowing it was them), interesting to listen to Norwegian Wood a decade after reading the novel, album as a whole was fine but I just could never see myself loving a Beatles song
I could get into this. Just pretty pleasant to listen to. Thank you Miriam
Wasn’t sure what to make of One More Dance?? he was just laughing so much about her husband dying
Connected is an A+ song, although I remembered it being faster?
Good sinister vibes throughout this
It is a very specific vibe and the first few songs I was worried it would all end up being too similar but I was loving it by the end. Fun!
I don’t mind Californication-era RHCP but in general I hate their funk/rap esque songs and I mostly still feel like that after this album. They can just sound quite obnoxious?? there was a pop music website I used to follow that always referred to RHCP as the worst band in the world, and this album is aesthetically and sonically very much in opposition to what they liked
I get Under The Bridge which I think is rightly a classic, and quite liked I Could Have Lied
Much like I was instructed to, I tried to listen with an open and relaxed mind. It certainly felt educational but I don’t think I would listen to any of these again. Hard to judge because I’m also clearly not listening in the way that was intended
One of those albums where I start to ask « how much longer is left? » and then check and we’re still on track 3. safe to say, not a good day for me to be back in the 70s
This was pretty good, hey! Who would’ve thought? Recognised more than I expected to, which is always a pleasant surprise
I was not feeling inspired by this at first but I really came around to it! it was those great horns and the « black is black is black is black » chant
I am thankful that I read the wikipedia description, but also I feel like I would have loved this anyway. What a fun little ride, love that he just decided to make this, very evocative, loved that his name kept getting mentioned as a victim/detective/something else. Feels quite funny that this is on the list but easily one of my faves so far. I'll be listening to parts of this again I think
I thought this was lovely, and enjoyed it more than expected. This is probably offensive to say but I thought some of it sounded like bridgerton music, and other bits were really interesting and kinda experimental
Loved this album for a Friday night and overall a fun listen.
I remember watching Rage somewhere in the early 2010s and Noel Fielding chose You Can Call Me Al (my first time watching it) and that video has forever stuck with me for its silliness but also as just such a good party song. Nothing else on the album came close to that for me but a pretty solid collection of songs
I love Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea and I did know that this was going to be a very different sort of album so I was bracing myself for that. I think this had some great moments and I really liked the first few songs and the overall ferocity but it maybe became a bit too much for me. Was going for a 3 but then remembered some of the other things I’ve a given a 3 to and had to bump it up
Some very interesting sounds, a few songs I quite liked, moments where I thought I was listening to the cure, but it didn’t quite cohere
1. David Jay 2. Peter Murphy 3. Kevin Askins 4. Daniel Hall - an intriguing 8 minutes
it’s getting 4 stars! it was a blast of energy and pretty fun to listen to, and the songs were short enough to not overstay their welcome
Changes sounded so far different from what I was expecting from this album and even though it wasn’t necessarily a style I like more, I appreciated the versatility.
the whole thing was kinda a vibe, especially good when I put it on and then wandered out of the room for a bit amd so wasn’t fully paying attention. Also quite liked Snowblind
File under: songs that are long and don’t justify their length. I see a 4-track album that’s 46 minutes long and we’re already starting from a tough spot, and this didn’t really convince me. I loved some of the piano around the 5 minute mark of hyperbolic.. which felt like maybe it was sampled somewhere?? as a whole not too bad but not that exciting
I’m sorry but there were a lot of exciting current albums being released today that I really wanted to listen to and I didn’t have 3 spare hours so let’s assume from my short sampling it’s a 2
Put this on and then put the kitchenaid on to make a cake to help get through it. I don’t want to reiterate all of my same recycled complaints from the past but I really didn’t enjoy this
Great album! I was a little bit hesitant at the start because it didn’t have any of the Pulp songs I knew on there and the first seemed more experimental/less accessible. But I really liked this. Also Pulp still out here releasing great songs in 2026!
My favourites were: Sylvia, Glory Days, TV Movie and A Little Soul
If it’s good enough for Olivia Rodrigo, it’s good enough for me! Have actually been listening to her recent cover of The Book of Love quite a bit lately, which felt like great preparation for this, although can one ever be fully prepared for a 69-song long album?
I think Flynn’s prediction for my rating will be a 2, if only because I’ve previously complained about albums on here being so long, but I loved this. Conceptually so cool, so much variety and I never knew what to expect. There were moments where I was like “oh I’m listening to sufjan stevens” and other songs that reminded me a lot of They Might Be Giants. It was a journey and probably my favourite brand new album to discover from the whole project so far. Went back and listened to some of my faves again already today and look forward to delving into some more
I think (although very hard to say) my faves were Crazy For You (But Not That Crazy), Washington DC, Mo One Will Ever Love You, Bitter Tears, Reno Dakota. But will require some more relistening to fully recall each of them
hmmm I just feel like the 21st century representation we’re getting is for the most part not things I would choose. I understand this is kinda the breakout black keys album but to my ears the follow up El Camino is way more exciting and better songs (although maybe seen as too sell out?) Anyway I expected more. Also one of the songs (can’t remember which) reminded me very strongly of the Jack White Alicia Keys James Bond song
This was a bit of a wild one and shapeshifter that I couldn’t quite pin down what it was going to sound like and then it kept changing. Not bad but I remember almost nothing about it except the title was cool
Sound was fun and I liked the energy but didn’t feel like it was that remarkable
I’ve tried to get into Sonic Youth before (unsuccessfully) and this time listening through was pretty much the same. Maybe they’re just too cool for me?
Lots of songs started out sounding good but then lost me part way through. Theresa’s Sound-World was maybe my favourite?
Maybe some of their other albums contain more delights?
Didn’t have high hopes for this but then quite enjoyed Carry On. The rest was whatever but also kinda liked Everybody I Love You
One of my favourite artists and albums! I was thrilled we got to listen to this (also a pleasant surprise considering this list does not seem to especially like women, electronic music or pop).
This came out within the same month as the debuts from HAIM and Lorde (also right before starting the HSC, and all three went on to define my personal listening habits for the rest of the 2010s, so safe to say this was a huge album for me. This kind of synthpop and Lauren’s gorgeous vocals are also my musical sweet spot, and I would listen to endless variations of these songs. They are all hits, each track is full of hooks and there’s lots of interesting lyrical ideas (conceptually, referring to the mother we share is so weird and very Knife-esque).
I think I slightly prefer their second album Every Open Eye but I think this perfectly established their sound and aged so well. Each of their four albums have lots of songs that I still listen to regularly
My faves: The Mother We Share, We Sink, Tether, Lies, Recover, Lungs
Have had a long time aversion to the Jean Genie and so was unsure about this album. Also read in the little intro that it’s perhaps better known for its cover image than any particular songs, which also tracks because I didn’t recognise any of them.
Having said that, I loved Watch That Man and Panic in Detroit (why are these not better known?) and appreciated some of the interesting stylistic choices, even if the piano in Aladdin Sane made me feel like I was losing my mind. But I didn’t necessarily enjoy the rest that much
I actually had quite high expectations for this which were sadly not met. It sounded very 80s not necessarily in a good way, the songs felt a bit hollow? Considering there were three quite big and familiar singles on here i thought it might sound more exciting. I've heard their debut is a lot better?
Didn’t expect to like this and also I didn’t. In year 8 science we watched a documentary and they stuck a camera down Steve Tyler’s throat while he was singing so we could what it looked like and that was pretty cool
So good! I can only imagine hearing this in 1979 and being blown away by all those cool little beeps and synth noises.
I actually couldn't believe when M.E. started and it was the main riff from Basement Jaxx Where's Your Head At?? What an insane sample
go Gary Numan
We’re not getting better song names than Kollaps, Schmerzen hören (hearing pain), Negativ Nein, Mikrobendub, Draussen ist feindlich (the outside is fiendish).
It wasn’t really like anything I’d normally listen to or plan to again, but what a cool project and this was certainly a collection of sounds I haven’t heard in this way before.
I want to lift it out of last place on this site because it’s far from the worst album I’ve heard
Enjoyed this way more than I expected to! Not sure it really deserves 4 stars but 3 felt insufficient for the fun energy going on while I listened to it
Impeccable timing from the generator! I watched their livestream from Coachella yesterday morning (I think one of their first shows in nearly a decade) and it was such a good performance, capturing songs that soundtracked a wide span of my teen years.
And then here was this album a few hours later. I really love how they opened out their sound here, and start exploring a lot of the dance music sounds that each of them would individually pursue later. Enjoyed a lot of the songs more than I remembered and it was a great vibe.
I Dare You is an all time fave for me, and I always think about the music video with very young Millie Bobby Brown finding the band performing in this abandoned LA temple?? Such an underappreciated song I think, and On Hold (plus the On Hold remix) holds up too.
Hoping their fourth album is in the works?
Some moments you can really just tell he wants to be in Oasis or creating some equivalent Britpop act music so bad. As a whole pretty enjoyable! Hard to go past Let Me Entertain You as a favourite
I think this was quite pleasant background in car music but not necessarily much more than that. Very jangly!
Sounds pretty good! Obviously a classic for a reason and those singles plus quite a few of the other songs have this great vitality to them (and many I recognised without knowing), but I don’t know if it reasonated or blew me away too much.
ABBA!! quite excited to listen to this one. Imagine having all of these huge singles all on the one album??? I know ABBA have many more, but still this is stacked
Anyway, besides the joy of hearing the all time greats in context, I loved Tiger and Arrival. I thought it was very cool hearing them do some different things on those songs
I remember the strong feelings evoked by Mamma Mia 2 but it’s interesting that some of these were saved for the sequel
There were a number of the openings of these songs that I was quite enjoying, but then nearly all of them took a turn for the worse, normally when the singing started, or there was suddenly so much flute, or something else wacky occurred that completely changed the song in a way I didn’t enjoy, or that last track turned out to be 18 minutes long.
my mum’s favourite Smiths album, and she was definitely giving it 5 stars while listening. I didn’t know any of these except for Stop Me… (maybe my fave Smiths song), but the real revelation was those dramatic string bits in Girlfriend in a Coma. I liked the expansive and more mature sound here even if the songs didn’t necessarily speak to me
I was excited because I love Billy Bragg (another top played artist in my household growing up) but then realised I didn't know any of the songs from this album and also it was stylistically not at all what I was expecting. Which is obviously the Wilco collab aspect (I am very aware of them and Pitchfork's historic love for them without ever hearing one of their songs) and the Woody Guthrie lyrics tribute concept. Which I think is cool! But not really the sound I would go for
1. King of the Rodeo and The Bucket are both such fun songs. Great highlights from this album
2. Caleb Followill’s voice is often quite annoying and in fact the entire Followill clan can be
3. I voted for Sex on Fire in the 2008 Hottest 100 and then by the time the countdown I desperately wanted it not to win (it did) and so I still harbour some Kings of Leon-related shame because of that incident (my opinion of Sex on Fire now is it’s fine - I no longer hate it nor do I think it’s especially good)
4. My mum hated The Bucket when it first came out and it’s the first song I remember (alongside Float On) where my sister and I would call out “it’s your favourite song” to her whenever it came on
All to say, a few great songs on here and the rest was whatever. obviously big things to come!
I think I’m just not the right person to properly be able to appreciate this album because I agree her voice sounds good but I don’t find anything particularly compelling in this music. It’s pleasant enough to listen to but I don’t think I’d ever feel like this is the music I would choose to listen to. I’m sure you will all have lots of nice things to say about why you liked it
I knew nothing about this and had never never of Nitin before, and made sure to not even look at the genre until it started playing. It was pretty cool! I loved the breakbeats throughout and the collage kind of aesthetics with all of the found sound audio extracts and some of that gorgeous piano (especially on Tides)
Profoundly disappointing (especially the first half) and even moreso when I found out it was Paul Weller behind it. Way too cocktail lounge-y for my liking. Brief uptick some of the songs towards the end but not enough. My dad said there were some great (better) additional songs on the 3 hour version of the album and that’s probably true but am I allowed to listen to them?
This is not olivia rodrigo’s the cure!
I would say I know a fair amount of their song but none of the names from this album were familiar so I was intrigued what it would sound like.
I loved the intense energy on this, especially in The Hanging Garden and The Figurehead (and A Strange Day). it was so menacing but also catchy
man I loved the drums. every song starting just made me think YES give me more of that Lol Tolhurst.
I’m sure there’s more of their albums to come but this actually really encouraged me to dig deeper before then
As an aside, I asked my dad what he thought of this album because he’s always been into the cure and some of their more obscure stuff and he asked me if I knew Just Like Heaven and I was very offended.
This was Apple Music’s number one album of all time (not mine)
This is not really my type of music, so while I appreciate its cultural ubiquity and significance (obviously Doo Wop That Thing is a great song) I don’t fully understand it all. I really liked Everything is Everything and Tell Him, and also liked hearing Ex-Factor for the sample that Drakw used in Nice For What (contextually much preferred it in Nice For What, also I think the best Drake song)
I hope Lauryn is doing okay
This was ok but not very notable. Felt like second half was a bit better?
Loved listening to this through for the first time. Incredible song names, Chicago is such a classic (a song I spent so long trying to identify without knowing any lyrics as a kid), those mournful and occasionally triumphant horns throughout are beautiful. It was a little bit too folky for me at times, and perhaps this is an album that would have rewarded me paying closer attention to the lyrics to work out what was actually going on, but still such a singular body of work.
starting this from the perspective that I’ce always found Isn’t She Lovely too saccharine for my tastes and almost grating, and I think somewhat influenced my feelings about the rest of the album.
There were some great moments (Pastime Paradise, Village Ghetto Land and As were my favourites), I appreciated that there were at times some quite weird things going on, but it also felt like it dragged at some moments and there were sections I didn’t enjoy at all
I don’t know enough about tango or bandoneon to properly comment in this, but this guy had so many albums (looked like in the 100s when I was trying to find this exact recording) and did this president close to the end of his career. But I didn’t love listening to this and time did move very slowly
up the unions! up the proletariat! what a legend, great songs
Help Save The Youth of America was my fave
There were some bits I really liked in here but it also was a lot at some points. Less polish isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it did reduce my enjoyment of this album
Saw the title and foolishly thought Afraid of Americans would be on here. Then I read the little wikipedia intro and didn’t think that really sounded like my interests.
I think I probably liked this less than the last Bowie album we did because I didn’t feel like it was as adventurous, but I really liked the title track!
This album was so much more diverse than I was expecting, and I particularly loved a lot of the instrumentals - they had a fun vibe and good groove. Not sure what I can add to Sabotage except to say it deserves all if its fame and probably more. I wanted to keep playing it on loop when the album finished because what else could bring more fun to my saturday night of school work.
Unexpectedly punk album? The Update and Sure Shot were especially cool
Against all odds and expectations, I really enjoyed Gimme All Your Lovin’ and didn’t mind some of the other songs in there too. It sounded big, it was kinda silly and fun and I way preferred this over the other ZZ Top album we had. Interesting considering this one is from 10 years later. not sure if this is maybe them selling out?
Some quite beautiful songs on here, I guess the rest also sounded good but I’m not sure what it is that makes this so exceptional to be on the list? And I see considered to be right up there as one if the best. I remain ignorant
this wasn’t what I expected it to sound like at all really and also I didn’t really like it
Sounded great! Loved extended souvenir and sacred heart, but the whole thing was exactly my sonic palette
Another one of those classic albums/artists that when I listen to it, actually sounds quite different to my expectations. there was a section that was weirdly country towards the end, and I thought the whole thing was fine to listen to but less rocky for The Rock Band
I entered this a cynic but it did really win me over. As a fan primarily of 808s & Heartbreaks through to (mostly) The Life of Pablo, I came into this knowing only a few songs (none of which were really my favourites) and also thinking that stylistically this would be a long way from the pop maximalism I love from MBDTF. I also haven’t intentionally listened to any Kanye in quite a while (although obviously still exposed to it everywhere) and so was actually very pleasantly surprised by a lot of what I heard. The curation skills were in full effect and there wasn’t a lot that I would describe as obnoxious. School Spirit and Never Let Me Down were the big standouts to me, and I got so excited when those first moments of Autotune flickered in towards the end of The New Workout Plan (I think it was that song?). Quite a few songs that I didn’t enjoy much at the start also won me over by the end, and surprisingly I wasn’t turned off by all the skits (even 2 in a row!) or the 12 minute closing song, although the whole thing was too long. Anyway I really don’t need or want more Kanye West entering ny collection in 2026 but here we are
I feel like this was “a vibe” but didn’t really rise much beyond that. Possibly a factor of most songs having a similar tempo and also probably not intended as music for marking French exams to
Such a great album! I didn’t expect to love this as much as I did. I’m not sure if this is supposed to be the defining White Stripes album because I definitely knew way more songs from the two that came after (Elephant and Get Behind Me Satan), but turns out I was actually secretly familiar with half the album.
Fell In Love With A Girl is my favourite White Stripes song but actually everything sounds great and it feels like there are so many classics on here. The mustachioed (is that still a real word?) underwear model turned PE teacher at our school Mr Fine performed Hotel Yorba on ukelele at our year 10 camp and I remember feeling uncool because I didn’t know the song at the time (but still felt way cooler than the kids playing Bruno Mars’ The Lazy Song on ukelele at the same camp). Also We’re Going To Be Friends is just uncharacteristically beautiful and I shall be listening to that a lot more
Keen for maybe more White Stripes to come?
Also my final thing to say: I reckon half this album is better than Seven Nation Army
I prefered Nico. this was ok but didn’t grab me much and was hoping for something more
It has been discussed before but always interesting seeing an album from within my lifetime from somebody I’ve never heard of (obviously I wasn’t fully across the music scene of 2001 but I have never seen the name Silver Jews before). Wasn’t particularly enjoying or engaged by this but then suddenly quite liked Let’s Not And Say We Did and parts of Tennessee
I think I enjoyed this more than the last Byrds album but didn’t find it anything remarkable
I listened to the last three albums all in the same evening and stylistically none of them were really my thing. This felt very traditional to me and unremarkable, but early morning breeze was quite pretty
Wasn’t very inspired by this and kinda felt like one long song. Begrudgingly and after many years I guess I like Tiny Dancer
Hearing the cover of Satisfaction was fun! I had to look it up because I briefly wondered whether in fact this version came first
Great album! So many great rhythms, it kept jolting me awake with exciting new bits. Once In A Lifetime just an all time classic
The Ruler’s Back was great but I wasn’t particularly drawn to anything that came afterwards. I guess I only know the biggest Jay-Z songs (arguably also his most sell out ones) and didn’t love the overall style here. Also his name was weirdly styled currently as JAŸ-Z on apple music. what is that umlaut doing there?
Clear winners for me were Love and Anger, Heads We’re Dancing and This Woman’s Work. Loved the parts that reminded me of Hounds of Love sound and overall it was impressive. But also got sidetracked thinking about how amazing Cloudbusting is and then wanted to listen to that and was sad it wasn’t on here
Another album that is obviously very technically impressive but means nothing to me
so the important background context is that I hate bohemian rhapsody. A lot of this I think is due to the fact that the “glebe crew” (a bunch of people in my grade at school) would always reach a point in the night when they were having parties where they would do a singalong of this, wonderwall and nosebleed section, which was normally a sign for me to leave, and that has stayed with me. There’s about 30 seconds towards the end of the song that I quite like, and I always forget about that, but can’t stand the rest.
As for the rest of the album, I appreciate that there’s a lot of variety and a few songs I enjoyed. Favourite was I’m In Love With My Car and unexpectedly ‘39. there are more queen songs I think I like elsewhere in the catalogue
amazing! exactly the kind of energy and fun new discovery I am always hoping for with these albums. Screaming was great (less than expected), so many cool horns, killer melodies and I can only assume great lyrics and content (not what I really listen for). Art - I - Ficial, Getmfree Adolescence and The Day The World Turned Day-Glo were my picks
The first half of this album was so good. Every song just worked and brought so much fun, and I could have easily imagined a different song becoming the big hit. Lots to love!
Also since I doubt its album will be showing up here, wanted to shout out my favourite Cyndi Lauper song Into The Nightlife from 2008, very Robyn-esque scandipop and incredible song
Into the first song and all those lapping water sound effects are really making me uncomfortable. Before we go any further I'm going to say I don't think this album is going to be for me. But I can hope for at least one or two songs I quite enjoy!
Bathtub was less than 2 minutes but felt a lot longer to me
There's lots of short snippets that sound familiar either as samples or that I've heard somewhere, but mostly just single lines as opposed to anything longer
It's interesting listening to this within a few weeks of the Eminem album because both have some similar in your face I would say quite sexist lyrics (or at least vibe) but Eminem was clearly trying to be as controversial and provocative as possible, but I don't think Snoop Dogg is trying to be and so almost feels like more of a true reflection of him rather than a character
I did like the high pitched droning drill kind of synth sounds throughout that were a bit eerie and disconcerting
Ok I did enjoy Who Am I (What's My Name) - would have loved to have a credited singer
I thought this was really cool! never heard of him before, don't really know what it was about or how it fits into a broader context but it sounded good.
The father of samba rock says Wikipedia. The 22nd best album of all time says at least one Rolling Stone list.
Loved Ponta de Lança Africano and Hermes Trismegisto Escreveu
Neneh Cherry is such a star! Buffalo Stance is just the most incredible song and I don’t think there is anything else that really sounds like it at all. Incredible pop songwriting but thrn she just throws in the most random sounds and accents and everything else imaginable but it all sounds good. I think Robyn once said she wouldn’t exist as a popstar with Neneh Cherry’s influence and trailblazing in Sweden, and so I do think an entire generation of Swedish pop stems from this album. so so cool
The one Triffids song I knew wasn’t on here but this was such a good listen. They have such a cinematic and expansive sound and it does sound so Australian. Felt like this was such a gem. Particular favourites were Bury Me Deep In Love and Everything You Touch Turns To Time
listened to this a week ago and didn’t have many thoughts to write then and seemingly have even less to say now. those songs were long and did not seem to do enough to justify their length to me
I mean what a crazy album and what a great little run of fun (minus Pink Floyd) albums that made me excited to be doing this project. songs with sirens are automatically great and there were some very good sirens on here. I used to religiously follow the british pop music blog Popjustice (RIP) which was quite influential in the 2000s and 2010s and the main guy was always going on about the KLF as one of the most important British artists and that time they set fire to their entire profits from music. Anyway just so cool! love the energy and so much fun. We need more things like this.
(I did listen to what I thought was the right album before seeing em’s suggestion and saw the version I listened to was missing the main singles?? but anyway all versions were great)
sure it’s ok! Interesting to listen to the entire 8 minutes of American Pie, which I actually quite enjoyed. Don’t know what I was expecting but it wasn’t for the album to be so folky
My mum was a huge Prodigy fan and controversially influenced my older cousins into liking the prodigy (much to my uncle’s dismay). I was very aware of Breathe growing up but was more across their later albums (Invaders Must Die is so good). Anyway, I think this one of the great album covers, and the Expanded Edition which just adds in a bunch of extra crabs is even better. Breathe is menacing and intense and also thrilling (the music video with a large crocodile wandering through a house also scared me as a kid), and also some of the longer trancier tracks were also pretty cool.
embarked on such a fun evening of listening to random 90s dance and rave tracks after this. I know it’s not really the general taste of this group but I do think everyone needs to listen to more dance music
Mixed feelings about smack my bitch up because it does go hard and another one my mum loves to sing, but also they didn’t really need to say that
what I was actually thinking while listening was « this sounds like that robbie williams album » and I’m not sure that’s the most complimentary reference point. Definitely going for britpop sound but none of the songs stood out enough to be among the classics. Further Away seemed to be the best (also has a touch of You Am I vibes?)
I don’t know if I’ve ever really got Fiona Apple. I’m well aware of her reputation but when I’ve tried to listen in the past nothing has really clicked, and I felt similarly when I started this album. but there are some great songs. my fave was Never Is A Promise, but I don’t envision listening often
sorry I didn't really enjoy this and it kinda grated on me. cool artist and album name though!
Brother Won't You Join In The Line gets some points for being kinda fun
inarguably some great songs (all time classics even) on this album, and as a first time listener I was impressed! but also partly a result of subconsciously knowing so many of these. Great to hear Go Your Own Way outside of a car ad context. The second half of The Chain was also great (is that a basic opinion to have?)
I feel like this album contained some of the most annoying songs I have ever heard, but it also had some quite cool and clearly innovative moments. That opening track sounded like ASMR and there were bits throughout with a lot of vision and excitement. Don't really know where that leaves me so will say 3
I hope isra is participating because I know she loves eminem.
I was reading about how Lynne Cheney gave a speech to congress about eminem and his inappropriate lyrics… makes me think about the moral panics!! anyway there are some genuinely shocking lines in here but also some real emotional gravitas. the last verse in stan still kinda moves me every time I hear it? it’s like a scene in a horror movie where you know the devastating information just before the characters do. Also, the janky real slim shady is fun but I feel like he perfected that particular type of eminem song on without me.
On the whole it was actually more violent than I expected and kim was a very unpleasant song to listen to. ken kaniff was also pretty bad. the whole thing did keep me engaged and have some good beats.
Also just to end « they’re my motherfucking balls you better let go of them they belong in my scrotum you’ll never get a hold of them » what a line
Good Kid and Swimming Pools (Drank) are two songs I genuinely like but really did not care for the rest of the album. The more I listened I think it was because of the pacing and just that I found the majority of these songs too slow for my taste. There are a few songs I really like on each Kendrick album but never fully connects for me
From this listen, I found that I quite liked Collect Calls, the production at the start of m.A.A.d city, and 10:00-10:20 of Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst (but seriously I was not here for 12 minutes)
the sounds and inventive ideas on this were often more interesting and enjoyable than the songs they were working in service of. very cool but probably wouldn’t be rushing back to listen again apart from on on on on…
thankfully this wasn’t the start of another reign of terror of 70s/80s live albums. Just one is enough for my month. And looking this up there seems to be like 10 different live albums they’ve recorded
ok so there are a lot of amazing songs on here and it was a lot of fun to listen to, but I was hoping for maybe a little bit more for such a generation and genre defining album. Also my fave songs are from their much maligned third album which might have more to do with actually experiencing that one in real time, but also You Only Live Once and Heart In A Cage are just that good.
Still, Hard To Explain, Someday, New York City Cops all insane and this is a great listen.
Also kinda insane I think some random songs from their most recent album are their most streamed songs?
I feel like everything I’m going to say about this album is obvious, but she has a great voice, such a rich tone, and the songwriting is great. the sound is warm and powerful and I’m glad I’ve gotten to hear more than just Fast Car now
the reviews and background info I read made me think I was going to love this album (allegedly so catchy, beloved by New Romantics, widescreen synth based) but it really did not live up to that hype for me. not at all unpleasant and a bit cure-esque in parts but hoped for a lot more and can kinda see why the name The Associates is not widely remembered
5/5 for the masks, probably only 2/5 for the music, but I can see a world where I would like parts of this
parts were quite good and I’m sure great songwriting!
she had a lovely voice!
I grew up with two jeff buckley hating parents and so I was predisposed to not really like this. I knew the singles and I knew Lover… is a hit with the kids, but there wasn’t much here for me. Could easily position Last Goodbye amongst other music of the era and so that was probably my favourite
this was interesting because you could definitely hear how they became the verve of enormous fame, but none of these songs were really very exciting
I grew up in such a big Blur household so I am very aware of their discography, however it was primarily restricted to their Greatest Hits DVD (I would often come home on a Friday afternoon from school and my mum would be watching it while baking something). So I know the singles and their videos very well (and there are some GREAT videos. I even seem to recall the M.O.R. video was filmed in Sydney), less so everything else.
Song 2 is still just a huge jolt of energy and fun and so powerful, Beetlebum and On Your Own were always my favourites. Some very intruguing and sometimes spooky sonic exploration on here which I enjoyed even if it didn’t always become a memorable song. Hope maybe their self-titled or Parklife will be on this list in the future?
Fly Away is a great song. I didn’t really think there were any great songs on here
the moment this album started it was already quite different to anything I was expecting, and then Sinead O'Connor was on the first track!! great stuff.
I actually loved the range of vocals across this album and the soundscapes of each song. It kept sounding fresh. Bomba was so good and Ungodly Kingdom was a lot of fun.
Ok the more I listened the more I actually just loved this album and the vibe it created.
this was pretty good! more things on here than I thought I would enjoy, particularly Tomorrow Never Knows
can sense that I’ve been leaving albums I thought I may not enjoy all to the end and it’s not been that much fun
Had a great time listening to this! Just a great 90s indie album, nice upbeat songs. I know they had a big influence and Evan Dando was quite a figure but I've never heard much of their music before.
Loved It's A Shame About Ray, Rudderless, Alison's Starting to Happen
don't think I've ever listened to an Adele album in full before so this was pretty cool! You don't need me to say that the songs are pretty good and sound equally great in 2026 as 2011. Gotta shout out Rumour Has It as probably the most interesting and fun track here, and also the middle of One and Only really impressed me. I also just think it's hard to beat the power of Rolling In The Deep as a tidal wave of a song. It is a lot of similar sounding and paced songs in a row, though
those drums were relentless (in a great way)! I loved how this album unfolded and how all those sounds fit together, and there were moments I thought sounded so cool (the melody from Organ Donor, foreshadowed in Stem / Long Stem, Building Steam With A Grain of Salt), but as predominantly instrumentals I wanted a bit more at a few points. But still a very cool piece of work
This did sound like a vast open, American/Californian landscape, and I liked the overall scale of it. pale skinny girl, blue and grey shirt, western sky were all lovely!
I'd probably give this 3.5 (maybe even a but I only reviewed LCD Soundsystem a few hours ago and I easily preferred that)
I think some of the more beautiful songs from the ABBA catalogue found on this album, also interesting because I would say none of these are among their big hits and the few songs I knew (Slipping Through My Fingers, When All Is Said And Done) I had possibly only ever heard in Mamma Mia and never the original.
I do think the arrangements of those songs and One of Us were lovely and quite moving, but the songs I loved the most were You Owe Me One and I Am The City, and their more experimental use of synths and more electronic based instrumentation. Some real underrated gems in the second half of the album
Also I love that album cover
I wasn’t very inspired by this. only just finished but I couldn’t really tell you anything about it
some moments of this (Are You Ready Eddy?) were pretty fun, other bits were at least interesting and there was a lot of range. Tarkus parts i-vii was very long and not necessarily enjoyable to me but lots going on and you can’t say they weren’t trying things
this was not bad! I liked his accent when it shone through occasionally and found Psycho Cupid and Flitcraft both pretty interesting tracks. I feel like the Mekons have been completely forgotten and I had certainly never heard of them before. Probably wouldn’t necessarily go back but good to hear from someone completely new
Was trying to guess what this might sound like and boy was I not at all close? Even the disconnect between the album cover and name was quite something.
Anyway I wasn't sure about this really. Thank you Wikipedia for telling me it is regarded as one of the most challenging recordings of the 20th century, 'John Harris of The Guardian later discussed the idea that the album requires several listens to "get it", concluding it still sounded "awful" after six listens' and that it was David Lynch's favourite album (tracks)
It was quite a lot. The Dust Blows Forward... I kinda didn't mind. Part of me appreciated the randomness and brazenness of each track just doing whatever it wanted with no regard for melody or structure or cohesion.
So at times this made me just burst out laughing which I think is for sure a good sign. I couldn't rate any higher because some of these songs were awful to listen to but there were enough semi redeeming features, and at least I wasn't continually bored.
I saw a comment on the youtube stream from someone who wanted to listen to the whole album and started crying when they realised they were only up to track 5 (I felt something not dissimilar at discovering I was less then halfway through, but we perservered)
fourth david bowie album and I think we’re still yet to encounter a song that I know. how many still to come? I will guess 8. tvc15 was my favourite and quite liked from around 5 minutes on in the title track. I can for sure appreciate the range across all of these albums
I definitely feel like I've heard the name John Grant before but no idea where, and none of this music was familiar to me. Another random album from a time that I remember and yet that is so far removed from anything I was aware of in 2010. Some of these songs were really pretty, with a special shoutout to It's Easier (I realised afterwards maybe partly because the melody is very similar to Do Not Let Your Spirit Wane by Gang of Youths)
And then what is there to say about That's The Good News. "If crack is not available I'll buy gelato"?? The German voicemail at the start? The German accent throughout the song. But then it suddenly turns into that very cool electronic breakdown for the "chorus"
Supernatural Defibrillator was also pretty fun. I could also see it being in conversation with Le Tigre or LCD Soundsystem or something like that (harder to view in conversation with the first half of the album).
Anyway an interesting discovery!
This was labelled as "more revved-up Massive Attack" and I did kinda enjoy that, but I would have liked some more of the songwriting of Massive Attack rather than just the soundscapes. it was a nice set of background music to sit and read to, and honestly great name. My favourites were: Keeping Pigs Together, The Rough and the Quick, Alaska Street
I liked how live this album sounded. By this point we’ve had quite a few live albums (as much as I would like to see Daft Punk Alive 07 on here, I think my stance is we shouldn’t be including live albums if those already exist on the list in original recorded form because otherwise it’s just double dipping) BUT the live quality here was really nice. The audience came through pretty strongly and I liked hearing the spontaneity and crowd interactions
This man loves cowbell!! personal highlights included the 8+ minutes of near non-stop cowbell on Us Vs Them.
Besides that, can’t go past the glorious heart of this album: the riotous, sleazy good times of North American Scum, followed immediately by two of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard, Someone Great and All My Friends, brought together for nearly fifteen minutes of transcendental bliss. Just two of the best songs ever made, sitting there together, antgems of 2000s indie but also just powerful all time songs. The melancholy, the build, the little blips and electronic sputters. Incredible incredible incredible. I went straight back to play them both again after the album finished. Without a doubt the pinnacle of LCD Soundsystem’s career. Thank you James Murphy.
I’ve sometimes been a skeptic of New York I Love You… but I loved the bombast in the album context. Great closing credits. Sound Of Silver (the song) also had some great moments
I think N.E.R.D definitely had some cool songs and some cool ideas but it didn’t really come together for me, often let down by Pharrell’s singing (I didn’t realise how uninspiring he could sound?). She Wants To Move is a banger but the rest I could take or leave
Another Adele so soon!! I know this album was absolutely massive and set all kinds of sales records at the time, but I don’t feel it has lingered much in the public consciousness, and I don’t remember much besides Hello and Send My Love To Your New Lover (Max Martin stans rise up).
But, despite this album being a bunch of ballads, I enjoyed it a lot. They’re just very well written, solid songs and obviously her voice is great.
New songs I particularly enjoyed were I Miss You, Remedy, Water Under The Bridge (okay I had heard that one before) and Sweetest Devotion
Do we think 35/36 will be coming soon???
Just in time for Bastille Day!!! Purely by chance I was listening to Daft Punk Alive 07 right before this and seamlessly transitioned from one live crowd to another, and have to commend the energy and the crowd here. In Amsterdam I felt like he was singing as though his life depended on it. It was commanding and I loved it. Less sold on the rest and I did start to lose a little interest
Firstly, love the name of this album and the album cover, and I feel like they both have a lot to say. Unfortunately I enjoyed those more tgan the album. The opening tracks sounded very different to what I was expecting from a Joni Mitchell album and I liked the rougher edges, but as the album went on I lost interest a bit
Some assorted thoughts and recollections:
1. The version of All of the Lights that I had downloaded was obviously a bootleg recording of its premiere or something and so there are assorted watermarks (especially during Fergie's rap) of some radio host shouting over the top, but there were so many things happening on the song already that for years I didn't realise it wasn't part of the song
2. I remember when the Runaway 30 minute film came out people in our English class were trying to get our teacher to play it for the class (in a similar way to how we watched Run The World (Girls) video and the trailer for Breaking Dawn) I think we watched some of it and then the teacher decided it was too much.
This is easily my favourite Kanye album and I think its maximalist style is most closely aligned to my kind of pop music preferences. I was blown away hearing Power on the radio and feeling like it was so sharp and well constructed, even in conversation with his earlier work. For me this was the peak of his pop music era, even though I know he technically had much bigger hits earlier on. But it was so ambitious and sounded amazing.
Power, All of the Lights, Runaway, Hell of a Life, Lost In The World - those would basically make up the majority of my fave Kanye songs, so the highs on this album are so high. BUT there were a few moments on my listen today that really dragged. Some of those songs in between were so long???? Blame Game, Devil in A New Dress, even parts of Monster I found myself so bored. And a Pitchfork 10.0 album should not have moments like that.
I very rarely listen to any of these songs now but I loved revisiting my faves
Working for the church while my family dies // Don't want to work in a building downtown - two lines I loved to think about as a 12 year old
I am thrilled at the number of 2000s/2010s albums we've had in here recently and this was huge for me in 2007.
This was where I first became aware of Arcade Fire, probably with No Cars Go. I felt like this was such a great moody winter album and I love the bombast (I remember how everyone felt about Arcade Fire last time so I'm not expecting much shared love). I think this was considered a less successful follow up to Funeral but I like how much darker this was and that it went deeper into religion and society (and whether cars go) (even though I still wouldn't really know what any of the songs are about.
(Antichrist Television Blues), Intervention, No Cars Go, Black Wave/Bad Vibrations and Windowsill all sound so good and should be played as loud as possible.
give a german a synthesiser and more likely than not I'm going to love it. so many cool little sounds here!! great work and have a lot to be thankful to them for.
I listened to the german version because I assume that came before the English lyrics? probably did not matter much because I don't think the words are the most important part
So cool and a lot of fun! My dad said he think this was maybe the album that first got him into alternative music when he was in high school. None of the devo songs that I knew were on this album but still a great listen and really kept me engaged
Definitely not as good as White Blood Cells, but still a pretty good listen.
I think this is about where I first became aware of the White Stripes, around 2005, my mum always complained if one of their songs came on and I probably felt reasonably neutral towards them.
Blue Orchid, My Doorbell and The Denial Twist are all just so good! Easily up there among their best songs, and I like how they each have their distinct sound to them. Not so huge on the rest of the album
1. I'm pretty sure the first time I ever went to No Lights No Lycra they played Rollin (Air Raid Vehicle) in the middle and nothing at all could have prepared me for Fred Durst's voice to suddenly come in and for that song to follow. Blew up all expectations but kinda incredible song.
2. Was listening to the New York Times Popcast the other week and a listener had a question about being in his late 30s and whether he was allowed to listen to Limp Bizkit in 2026 and the hosts were like "the first problem is you asking this question. you're allowed to listen to anything [don't worry if society says it's cool]"
Put off listening to this album because I knew it needed to be played as loud as possible but also didn't want to offend other people. Parts of it are a lot of fun, some bits are quite annoying and sound badly like 2001. I was surprised how mellow it was around the middle (songs like The One) for a band who frequently tell people to break stuff. The intonation of "my way or the highway" in one of the songs I also found very funny. Very much a product of the time
I think this was pretty good but didn't leave too much of an impression on me. Raised on Robbery was so good!
Loved every second of this! What an amazing album and so glad we got to listen to it today. I really do think this is the Kate Bush peak and so many of the songs on here should be so much bigger (not just Running Up That Hill, as class as that is). Perfect amount of synth-forward songs, doesn't feel dated to me at all and can hear the influences of this on so much of the music I love.
Cloudbusting is such a gorgeous, powerful song and to me forms the centre of this album. I regularly think of the video where she's up that giant hill and the strings are incredible. I liked the repeating motifs throughout the album and the little callbacks to earlier tracks, and The Big Sky, Waking The Witch and Hello Earth were great new discoveries. Also the Jig of Life was so much fun! I just loved what she was doing here.
I found this pretty boring overall, maybe with the exception of Let It Loose and Shine A Light. I thought by reputation that the Rolling Stones would make really thrilling music but I just didn’t really find that here?
Sultans of Swing has come up so many times in various "guess the song" type games that I have played over recent months and every time I have thought it sounded familiar but could never guess it. Hopefully that changes now.
My only real experience of Dire Straits prior to this was knowing Romeo and Juliet (but specifically the Killers and Lisa Mitchell cover versions) and also that song isn't on this album. I loved the opening of Down to the Waterline (also Sultans of Swing) but apart from that didn't care much for the rest. but it wasn't bad!
I also listened to this quite late at night while marking (probably not the intended way to do so)
this was a huge amount of fun and I recognised a lot more than I was expected. also brought a lot of joy to my parents when I put it on for them. I anticipate returning to parts of this
Not a big fan of this one, but great strings on Way To Blue, and Day is Done gave feeling good vibes
Certainly some interesting ideas in here but it felt long and not sure anything really amazed me enough to want to go back. Pristeen and Las Vegas Basement were kinda good and I liked the expansiveness of the album as a whole. I feel like multiple songs started out sounding interesting but I couldn't fully get on board with the singing and all of the parts together.
Well this doesn't have Feel The Pain on it (a truly great song that I think set me up to expect more from this). I guess as this was 4 albums earlier, this was naturally a bit rougher and maybe edgier. the songs were fun but certainly didn't grab me melodically (also J Mascis' voice sometimes left a little to be desired).
The start of Freak Scene was great!
Huge opening run to an album. Really enjoyed the album but it's very hard not to feel disappointed after finishing Where The Streets Have No Name, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, and With or Without You and then still having the rest of the album that doesn't quite match those heights.
I find these songs so evocative and at times even moving. They were great at this sound. In God's Country is also so good (weirdly I was tipped off to this song by Tori Amos)
ALSO does anyone remember that random 2004ish song Take Me To The Clouds Above that mashed up How Will I Know and With or Without You????
A truly classic album with some absolute classic songs. Basket Case and When I Come Around are rightly hailed as pop punk all timers and I think they still sound amazing.
Of the Green Day albums we've had I do prefer American Idiot for its ambition and scope but I do think these songs are so tight
I do think it's fascinating that Green Day did their 30th anniversary of Dookie/20th anniversary of American Idiot combined tour, and I love looking at the evolution over that time.
Songs that were new to me that I loved: She, Burnout, In the End
Another 1970s German group! I only wish this could have been a fraction of the enjoyment of Kollaps or Kraftwerk. This really just sailed past me but I was very aware of how long the final track was
Hard to resist the desire to “whoo” in just about every song. Sound was fun but I’m not sure if I could easily distinguish any of the songs
loved how spooky the opening was and very intrigued by the KKK guest appearance but overall thought it was just fine
so so good!! loved this. just had such a fun time listening through and felt like every song was filled with hooks. Just What I Needed is a classic and could listen to that every day. Can really see how this influenced lots of artists I grew up loving (the Killers most notably) and it was punchy and sharp.
I also love You Might Think off one of their later albums and am maybe inspired to go and listen to some more
The Beatles are really starting to run up the numbers on this list. I found this to be a little slow for my tastes but I LOVED Any Time at All. That just came out of nowhere and really astounded me. so that was a great moment!
fascinating naming convention for the first half of the album but I really didn't enjoy this very much
not unpleasant but also unremarkable. certainly not what I was listening to in 2009
